Abstract

The small mammal community of Tumasberg, an inselburg on the gravel plains of the Namib Desert, was studied by mark-release-recapture methods. The principal small mammals present on a 6 hectare livetrapping grid were: Petromyscus collinus (rock mouse), Aethomys namaquensis (rock rat), Petromus typicus (dassie rat) and Elephantulus rupestris (rock elephant-shrew). This study summarises climatic and microclimatic data for Ganab, 3 km from Tumasberg, and the following ecological and demographic information for the small mammal community; abundance and distribution, home range, activity patterns, recruitment and mortality rates, diet, and reproductive cycles of the small mammals. These data are used to analyse the community structure and ecological interactions of the species.